WoW - Microtransactions Confirmed

Battle.net has word that the new version 5.4 patch for World of Warcraftis available, and confirms their adding in-game micro-transactions. Blizzard had this to say on this topic.

Thanks for all the feedback so far, everyone. We’re still pretty early in the exploration process, but we did want to go into more detail about our rationale for introducing an in-game store, as well as provide some insight into what you might ultimately see available there.

For players who are already interested in the in-game items we offer, such as Pet Store pets and mounts, the benefits of an in-game store are pretty clear. We think everyone would appreciate the convenience of being able to make such purchases without having to leave the game, and ultimately that’s our long-term goal for the system, though there’s quite a bit of work involved in retrofitting those existing items into the new system.

First, we’ll be testing the in-game store with some new kinds of items we’re looking into introducing (in Asian regions, at the outset) based on player feedback: specifically, an experience buff to assist with the leveling process, as well as an alternate way to acquire Lesser Charms of Good Fortune. We’ve had a lot of requests from players in different regions for convenience-oriented items such as these, and as with other new ideas we’ve introduced as WoW has evolved—including Pet Store pets, mounts, and more—your feedback plays a hugely important part in determining what we add to the game.

Ultimately it’s still too early in the process to make any final determinations about our plans, but in the meantime, we hope you’ll check out the in-game store once it’s implemented on the PTR and let us know what you think.

This may end up increasing the loss of players if they don't do it correctly. If they just stick to visual and convenience items it probably won't hurt them. (even though technically the convenience items are illegal but since they are totally optional nothing will probably come of it)

While Blizzard have been going downhill for almost 10 years, you can hardly be upset over this micro crap. It's just the way things are today - and the fact that they've held back for this long is something I'd tend to appreciate rather than bitch about.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Blizzard used to be one of my favorite developers, but they've changed over the years and so has my taste. I still haven't even played the expansion for Starcraft II yet, and I'm not sure if I will.

Hehe, sounds familiar. I bought it, installed it and never played it. Gonna get around to it one of these days, but there's no rush.

Originally Posted by azarhal
The only thing they have old back from is putting the store in the game (with more stuff in it). Buying cosmetic mounts and pets for WoW was already available through an external website.

Yep, but that's pretty minor.

Almost all major MMOs have in-game stores and have had them for years.

I didn't like it when Sony brought them into EQ, but honestly, it hasn't affected me at all. As long as they aren't selling raid loot, I don't care about the fluff crap. As far as WoW goes, I found that game so cartoony and flat-out easy/fugly that I could only handle it for a week, and that was like 8-9 yrs ago.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Almost all major MMOs have in-game stores and have had them for years.

I know that from DDO & SWTOR (added in the latter in the last months of the last year, if I remember correctly).

And for SWTOR, EA stated once that Microtransactions are a huge seccess (although not citing SWTOR directly). And, even more, against common belief they also stated at one point that it is rather the subscribers - read : the more entitled players - who bought there, not the F2P players (the community fully believed it to be the other way round).

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

The reason why it would be the subscribers that buy the stuff in the Cartel Market in SwTOR instead of the F2P players is because the F2P players are so restricted compared to the subscribers that there really is no reason to buy anything. If they would either remove the heavy restrictions or make what the subscribers have available in the Cartel Market there probably would be far more purchases made by F2P players then subscribers. The F2P players probably just play through the story lines and not really do much else.

Nah, I've been playing SW:TOR quite a bit as F2P, and have bought several account-wide unlocks that have brought my game experience up to almost the same point as subscribers. The biggest thing I've been unable to get around is the credit limit, but that just means I spend more credits on frivolous stuff than I otherwise would to stay under the cap, and I'll just never be a high roller.

What I'm finding about a lot of these F2P games is that it's possible to spend $30-$60 in one-time purchases to bring you almost to the same level as subscribers. Obviously there are some moderate exceptions here and there, but I like the idea of owning these games instead of renting them, and knowing I can take a break and go back at any time to continue playing without worrying about a subscription lapsing. I'm actually becoming a bit of a fan of this financial model.

News article is somewhat wrong. 5.4 patch isn't "available" yet, it's just being tested. It's been available for testing for well over a month, so this is nothing new.

Also, WoW has had pets/mounts you can buy with RL money for years now, it's just that the purchase was done on the website, instead of in the game. The fact that's moving to some kind of in-game vendor is hardly news. Also, if you consider these microtransactions (which you probably should), then WoW has already had microtransactions for 3-4 years now.

The only thing actually new here is that they're "looking into" selling Lesser Charms (which are currently obtained via various activities in game, essentially a timesink), and also an experience buff in Asia.

why go F2P when you still have 8 million subscribers? Probably better to just add a cash shop for the moment as they are doing. Later, when the numbers drop a bit further, they can make subscription a premium thing and add a limited F2P option.